


have i found you, flightless bird

by starlightsonatas



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slow Dancing, this is literally just them dancing together. it is very sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:55:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29257815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightsonatas/pseuds/starlightsonatas
Summary: On days like these, when there are no heists to be held, no great event of crime sparked by a mass breakout, when neither of them are confined to Arkham, it’s easy to forget exactly who they are.
Relationships: Jonathan Crane/Edward Nygma
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	have i found you, flightless bird

**Author's Note:**

> The song featured in this fic is [Flightless Bird, American Mouth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwZNGaMrwcE&ab_channel=HopeGlimmers) by Iron & Wine. You can play it while reading for ambiance, if you like. Title is taken from the same song.

Edward lies sprawled across Jonathan’s lap, content to have his hair pet while Jonathan reads. In the corner of the room, his phone is hooked to the speaker, playing music quietly. It had taken them quite a while to agree upon one of Edward’s many playlists—the one that consisted of nothing but Beyoncé had been turned down vehemently, much to Edward’s chagrin. Anything is better than Jonathan’s own eclectic playlist of eerie ambiance and gloomy country music.

On days like these, when there are no heists to be held, no great event of crime sparked by a mass breakout, when neither of them are confined to Arkham, it’s easy to forget exactly who they are. When Jonathan has found a combination of medication that works—at least for a time—and Edward’s ever-racing brain has taken a brief respite, normalcy almost feels natural. 

Edward perks up as the next song begins, the soft words familiar. As the melody picks up, an idea blooms. He’d rather like to dance. True, when one pays attention to the lyrics they aren’t particularly romantic, but the singer’s voice is filled with such longing that it’s easy to forget. Besides, the tempo is perfect for a waltz.

“Jon,” Edward murmurs, shifting slightly in his boyfriend’s lap. Jonathan makes a sound of acknowledgement. “I like this song.”

Jonathan tilts his head, listening. “It’s nice.”

Edward purses his lips. Even though they’ve been together quite a while now, the other never seems to get any better at picking up on subtlety. He’ll have to be more direct. “Jon.”

“Hm?”

“I want to dance.”

Jonathan appears nonplussed. “Edward, we’re in the living room.”

“So?” Edward pokes at Jonathan’s protruding collarbone. “It doesn’t matter where we are. This is a good song and I’d like to dance.”

“I’m reading.” Jonathan can pretend all he likes to be indifferent, but already Edward can sense the fond resignation in his tone. He grins, knowing that he’s won. He plucks the book from Jonathan’s hands and lays it carefully upon the end table of the couch, aware that Jonathan will be annoyed if Edward isn’t careful with his precious literature. Edward sits up, stretching his arms above his head. His thirties have brought on the aches of someone much older, something he blames on the frequent altercations he has with a particular caped crusader. 

He stands up from the couch, offering Jonathan his hand like a proper gentleman. “Come on, dear,” Edward says cheerfully. “It takes two to tango.”

Jonathan snorts. “The day you convince me to tango is the day I finally leave this world.” He takes Edward’s hand and lets himself be pulled up.

“Shush, you spooky man.” Edward wrinkles his nose. He doesn’t care for Jonathan’s occasional remarks about the inevitability of death. To Edward the only thing that matters is now, because when one lives in the present, one is infinite. 

Jonathan takes up the leading position, because if there’s one person who likes to be in control more than Edward Nygma, it is Jonathan Crane. One hand takes up Edward’s own right hand, the other rests firmly against his waist. Edward wraps his left arm around Jonathan’s shoulders. He can feel the jut of each bone and makes a mental note to scold Jonathan later for not eating consistently.

Edward admires the way their palms fit together; Jonathan’s hands are larger, his fingers longer, and his sepia brown skin is a few shades darker than Edward’s own. He can feel the tendons flexing, Jonathan’s tenseness extending even to his extremities. Intimacy still makes Jonathan’s hackles raise, but slowly Edward is breaking those walls down. Indeed, he can feel how Jonathan relaxes ever so gradually. 

He’d expected the first few steps to be awkward or clunky, but to Edward’s surprise and delight Jonathan effortlessly steps in time with the music, and it is _Edward_ who stumbles slightly as they begin. 

“I didn’t expect you to know how to waltz,” Edward remarks once he’s recovered from the flash of embarrassment. “Look at you, though. Leading flawlessly.”

“It was expected,” Jonathan says slowly, “that as the reluctant heir to Keeny Manor, I’d need to one day attend soirees, high-society gatherings and the like. Dancing was a… necessary skill.”

For once, Edward doesn’t tease or push. Jonathan rarely speaks of his past, and to hear even the most minute details is a rare gift. So Edward stays quiet and lays his head on Jonathan’s shoulder. He closes his eyes, content to listen to the music and feel Jonathan against him, reminding himself that this is real. Jonathan is his, and he is Jonathan’s. Forever, forever, forever, and he will do anything to make sure it stays true. 

“I love you,” he murmurs. “ _Te amo_ , Jon.”

Jonathan’s lips brush the top of his head. “I love you, too. _Para siempre_.”

The song fades out, the last on the playlist, but even in the silence they continue to dance, too close and too in love to care.

**Author's Note:**

> To those wondering about the Spanish, my Edward and Jonathan are mixed Indigenous Latinos. Edward is Taino Cuban and Jonathan is Quechua Colombian-Ecuadorian.


End file.
